About The Choices Program

The Choices Program is non-profit organization based at Brown University. We develop curricula on current and historical international issues and offer professional development for educators.

Choices materials incorporate the latest scholarship from Brown University and beyond to draw connections between historical events and contemporary international issues.

In each unit, a central activity challenges students to consider multiple viewpoints on a contested issue. Students examine the historical, cultural, and political background of the issue to prepare a coherent presentation.

Follow-up discussion demands analysis, and evaluation of conflicting values, interests, and priorities. Ultimately, students are expected to formulate persuasive arguments and express their own views.

Mission

The program seeks to empower young people with the skills, knowledge, and participatory habits to be engaged citizens who are capable of addressing international issues through thoughtful public discourse and informed decision making.

There are two kinds of units—those that are shaped around an unresolved current issue and those that are shaped around a historical turning point. All units involve students in a dynamic conversation connecting the past and the present. Units provide readings and student-centered lesson plans, including a deliberative activity in which students consider divergent views.